Rotary cutting decks have one or more cutting blades that rotate in horizontal cutting planes. The cutting blades have sharpened cutting edges that cut grass as the blades are so rotated. Such cutting decks are often mounted on riding lawn mowers that have a seat for carrying an operator. Various controls are available to the operator for allowing the operator to drive and steer the lawn mower, to start and stop the operation of the blades, to raise and lower the cutting deck, etc.
It is aesthetically desirable in some situations to mow the grass in a striped pattern comprising alternating light and dark stripes. For example, baseball fields and other sports fields are often mowed in a striped pattern. A common way to produce such stripes is to mount a rotatable, ground engaging roller at the rear of the cutting deck.
As the lawn mower and cutting deck move forwardly over the ground, the roller bends the stems of the cut grass to lay the cut grass over. When the mower performs a 180° turn and travels in opposite directions in adjacent swaths, the cut grass will be laid over in opposite directions. Light will reflect differently off the adjacent swaths of cut grass where the cut grass has been laid over in opposite directions. This is what produces the alternating light and dark stripes.
The roller used to stripe the grass must engage the grass with sufficient force to bend the stems of the cut grass over as the cutting deck moves forwardly. Thus, known roller stripers typically comprise metallic rollers that are fairly heavy since gravity is what keeps such rollers engaged with the cut grass. However, if the mower drives along a paved surface, such as a sidewalk or street, the metallic rollers are very noisy when rolling over such a paved surface.
In addition, such rollers can be dented or otherwise damaged if they bang or hit against a curb with too much force when the mower is driven up over a curb as often happens. The operator must either avoid driving the mower over such a curb or must climb the curb slowly to minimize the chances of damaging the roller. Both of these damage avoiding measures run counter to the normal driving practices of many operators.
Another problem with many known roller stripers is the fact that they are mounted on the cutting deck in an operative position using fixed support brackets or roller journals. Thus, there is no way for an operator who is seated on the seat of the lawn mower to easily put the roller striper into operation or to take it out of operation. The operator could stop and uninstall the roller striper by unbolting it from the cutting deck and then later reinstall the roller striper. However, this is obviously far too cumbersome a procedure to selectively place the roller striper into operation or to remove it from operation. A simpler way is needed to provide the operator of a riding lawn mower with some control over when he or she uses a roller striper.
Grass conditions vary greatly with grass variety, moisture content season of the year, and many other factors. Several conditions promote the adhesion of grass clippings onto the surface of a striper roller. The buildup of clippings on the surface of the roller is undesirable. The compacted layer of clippings adhering to the roller surface may release from the roller surface on occasion. When the compacted layer of clippings releases from the roller surface, the compacted mat will become an unsightly patch deposited onto the lawn. The deposit of a compacted layer or mat of compacted grass clippings may smother the growing grass under the compacted layer, producing a long lasting blemish on the lawn.